Freedom Riders Return to Montgomery

On May 20, 1961, a bus full of white and black college students left Birmingham, AL under police escort. They had been beaten when they arrived in Birmingham after having their bus fire bombed in Anniston, AL. They were the Freedom Riders and they were attempting to integrate the interstate busses that traveled throughout the South. When they arrived in Montgomery, AL, the police escort peeled away and they were met at the bus station by several hundred white people, instigated by the KKK. The Freedom Riders were beaten mercilessly and barely escaped. The next night, approximately 1200 people cram First Baptist Church, Ripley St. to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others give courage to the Riders. A mob of several thousand whites surround the church, throwing rocks, shouting obscenities, and setting cars on fire. After negotiations between Alabama Gov. Patterson and Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General of the United States, the National Guard came out to disperse the mob and help bring those trapped inside the church to their homes. To my knowledge, it is the only time in the history of the United States that a church full of worshippers was under siege. Saturday, I got to meet some of the Freedom Riders and others who were inside the church that night when the beginnings of a museum were unveiled here in Montgomery.  

Fred Gray - the lawyer who defended Rosa Parks at the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and tried some of the most important cases of the era. Bruce Boynton - the man who initiated the lawsuit that desegrated interstate bus travel in 1960. Catherine Burks and Rip Patten - college students at the time who became Freedom Riders. I got to hear from and speak with these people yesterday. I heard Rip Patten tell how when people asked him if he was afraid, he would answer by reciting the 23rd Psalm. With tears in his voice, he recited it for us. I heard stories of faith, courage, and a fight for freedom. As we gathered in First Baptist Church, the same place that was surrounded by a mob 47 years before, we were reminded of what God did through these courageous people as they sought to remind America that she needed to enforce her own laws that were already on the books. Almost all of those who spoke on Saturday were strong Christians. They saw their movement not just as a ride for their own freedom, but they saw it in a spiritual sense. God was on their side. God was strengthening them and working through them. I believe that they were right.

For some time, I have been interested in this event and in Civil Rights history in general. I moved around throughout the afternoon asking people, "Where was the white church in all of this? Did you ever wonder why white Christians did not more readily come to your aid?"  I believe that it is a legitimate question and it is one that has not been adequately answered. Sure, we know that there was bad theology that said that blacks were inferior to whites that they were meant to live in servitude. But, that theology was a response to an already prevailing mindset. It was not the cause. So, where was the white church? How could they allow a mob of almost 3,000 people to surround a church while people were worshipping on a Sunday night? How could they not see this as wrong? What if your church was surrounded by 3,000 while you were singing hymns to God? How would that affect you?

As I asked these questions, I got blank stares. The Freedom Riders and others that were in that church that night had never thought about white Christians. They either said that they had other things to worry about or that they had not thought about it. Rip Patten, a strong Christian himself, said that some ministers in Jackson brought them some things when they were in Parchman Penitentary after being arrested for "breach of peace." He pointed to their Christian charity as they sat in jail for riding a bus - an act that was legal according to the Supreme Court of the United States. Other than that, there was no thought or awareness of what the white church could have been doing during this time. The white church was completely irrelevant to the thoughts of the leaders of this movement.

I was very surprised by that answer. They had never thought of it. But, what if Southern Baptists in Montgomery had stood up and said that it is wrong to attack people who want to ride busses just because they are black? What if they had said that it is wrong to surround a church and put it under siege? What if white Christians had led the way in bringing justice instead of ignoring what was going on? What if?

I was shaken to my core as I heard the stories of what these heroic people went through. Their attitudes have stayed positive and they have continued to trust God. But, I was struck by the fact that the white church was not on the side of justice. We were on the wrong side of history. Does our current cultural irrelevance have anything to do with the fact that we sided with injustice 50 years ago? Are there ways that we side with injustice now? I wonder.

More on this subject later . . . 

Comments

[Jeff Moody]

Alan,

I spoke with someone about the history of one of the Montgomery white Southern Baptist Churches. She remembers a time when the men of the church stood outside in order to prevent any integration from happening.

Unfortunately, in Alabama at that time period many of the white "Christians" were in the mob outside the church. I have no way of validating this opinion, but I think if we look at how many people at the time in Alabama were professing Christians, the percentages would show that the mob had a good chance of inlcuding some church goers.

At the very least, it seems that the white church did not oppose the mob and therefore supported them through indifference.

Those were dark days my friend and I am glad that you are casting a light on our past so that we cannot continually sweep it under the rug.

[Dave Miller]

I pastored for 4 years in rural Virginia in the late 80's and early 90's (I call it my wilderness wanderings). The racism ran deep in that church. I lost a raise one year because some black kids played basketball in the church parking lot (I had arranged to put the hoop up).

One old guy (a genuinely nice person) used to tell me how he was not really a racist at all. His proof was that in his younger years, he would go hunting and a nearby black lady would come to the door and he would give her the birds to clean and dress, then let her have some of the meat for herself.

The thing that got me was that he was a fine, solid Christian man. He just had this huge blind spot about black people. It was sad.

[David Rogers]

"Does our current cultural irrelevance have anything to do with the fact that we sided with injustice 50 years ago? Are there ways that we side with injustice now? I wonder."

Alan,

I think you are on to an important thought there. I will be tuned in to see what God continues to show you about this. May God break our hearst and send true revival. Have you followed the reports from Jena, Lousiana? That is encouraging in this regard. Maybe God is up to something...

[Alan Stoddard]

Alan, something you said interested me. You wrote, "I believe that it [the issue of where was the white church] is a legitimate question and it is one that has not been adequately answered."

Can I offer a different angle? We do have the answer. It speaks for itself. The SBC repented officially in 1995. There were many other resolutions along the way. But the rub is this: many white Christians went to church every Sunday and heard the gospel, but were still racists. There was a huge disconnect between the gospel preached and the gospel lived.

Today, I can't name you a SBC pastor who has really preached on race. I mean preached racism as sin and called for repentance. Can you? And in the style of that great theologian John McCain, that "my friends" is the problem. Decades have gone by and the church has remained silent. Why? Because if pastors preach race it will cost them. And they are not willing to pay that price. What we need is for the big name pastors to preach a series of messages on racism. It one of the topics preachers can't deal with though. It's too hot!

We have the answer. It's just not the one we want.

[Dave Miller]

Alan Stoddard,

As an expositor of scriptures, I don't preach sermons on subjects. I address subjects as I see them addressed in scriptures as I work my way through a book.

But I do, and have, addressed racism often. It is easier now, being in Iowa, where racism is not as prevalent as it was in Virginia.

I did address it in Virginia (which led to some of the conflict I mentioned above). One time, I said, "some of you will not enjoy heaven much, because there will be black folks there." Icycles formed on the ceiling. But when the crisis came, I talked to a couple of allies and we decided that if I forced the issue, the main response would be the splitting of the church. We decided to let God change hearts over time, rather than forcing a confrontation that would shatter the church.

It is one decision I have made in ministry that I often question. If it happened again, I think (hope) I would "go to the mattresses" on this one. I made a decision then, based on what I thought was best, but maybe racial hatred is one thing worth dividing a church over. Can that church be a real church while excluding blacks?

Looking back, I think maybe I should have risked getting fired and confronted openly the racism in the church. Maybe if I had "burned it all down" something would have grown up out of the ashes that would be more genuine.

I guess I will find out in heaven what I should have done.